Viola Davis' historic Emmy win blasted by soap star Nancy Lee Grahn

Veteran "General Hospital" actress Nancy Lee Grahn has apologized for tweeting remarks many on social media took as disparaging of Viola Davis' historic Emmy Award win and acceptance speech.

When Davis on Sunday became the first black woman to win the award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series, the "How To Get Away With Murder" star said, "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there." Grahn in response tweeted, "I wish I loved Viola Davis Speech, but I thought she should have let Shonda Rhimes write it." She then added, in a since-deleted tweet,' "Im a [expletive] actress for 40 yrs. None of us get respect or opportunity we deserve. Emmys not venue 4 racial opportunity. ALL women belittled."

This started an outburst of criticism in which Grahn was accused of white-liberal privilege and entitlement. She initially tried to explain her position. But as criticism continued, Grahn expressed regret several times, later issuing a statement saying, "I apologize for my earlier tweets and now realize I need to check my own privilege."

Lawyer criticizes Morgan

The lawyer for Kevin Roper, the Walmart truck driver who smashed into a limousine last year killing one person and severely injuring comedian Tracy Morgan, has criticized Morgan's surprise appearance at the Emmys. In his remarks, Morgan said, "I suffered a traumatic brain injury that put me in a coma for eight days. When I finally regained consciousness, I was ecstatic to learn I wasn't the one who messed up." In a statement to Newsday, attorney David Jay Glassman said the comments violated his clients' "constitutional rights, including the right to have his guilt or innocence decided in a courtroom, as opposed to by the national media."

Rating down

Nielsen says Sunday's show averaged 11.9 million viewers, making it the least-watched Emmycast ever. Last year, when it aired on a Monday in late August on NBC, it logged 15.6 million viewers.